dan which is the medal of this week. >> reporter: right. i think it's the concern here is based on who was talking about this. senior people in al qaeda in yemen which has shown a desire and the capability of carrying out attacks against the west. so it's who is talking about it that is the number one concern here. but, still, no detail about when or where or how or against whom, or exactly how this would be carried out. so state has extended the closing of 19 embassies. these are as you just showed the map, mostly north africa and the middle east. the state department says many of these would be normally closed for a couple of days during this week any way because of the high holy days around the end of ramadan. then reopening nine of the consulates and embassies that were originally closed on sunday including kabul and afghanistan and baghdad and iraq.

they are really narrowing down the scope of the closings to north africa and the middle east although they also say they don't know where these attacks are being -- are going to take place. i think that is the assessment of the intelligence community that those are the likeliest places. but it should be added that they don't know what the target is. they can't certainly say that it's against the u.s. diplomatic post. it could be other western interests. for that reason both france and the uk have decided to keep their embassy in yemen closed through thursday. they are still trying to find out more about this but, so far, any further information about this has been elusive. >> as we have been listening to experts on the intel and richard haass talking about the fact this is the new normal, many of the elect officials coming out talking about the chatter reminds them of pre9/11. thj the su norm isn't this a real impact now? the fear that can be -- the fear

that can be portrayed to the united states to close our embassies? there is an impact that they can still have. >> i think that is something we have all wondered was this just a conversation or a communication of some kind that there is nothing behind it, it was just intended to scare everybody and i guess the feeling is either there's some reason to think there is some substance to it. either that, or they think that they can't take any chances here and have to treat it as such. but remember that al qaeda in yemen, this should not come as any surprise to anyone. this is the group that was behind the underwear bomber on the flight into detroit. this was the group behind the plot last year to try to get an airplane. this is also the group behind the plot to put bombs in printer cartridges aboard cargo planes. they have shown their capability to do this. this is already a very dangerous

outfit. >> also before 9/11, al qaeda and yemen with the "uss cole" bombing. pete, thank you. joining me from cairo is nbc chief foreign accordance richard engel. the embassy there is closed. explain the situation there and what you've been hearing about northern africa. >> reporter: if this is the new normal, it is a very difficult status quo that we are entering into for american diplomats. the last several years since 9/11 really american diplomats forced back. they have been surrounded by tons of concrete. now the embassy itself is closed and it makes it difficult for diplomats to get out and interact with people and meet members of civil society which

is effectively their job in order to inform u.s. policy. here in cairo, while pete was saying that diplomatic missions are taking extra security but they might not be the only targets, there are many businesses, commercial interests, chain restaurants, american schools and we have been in touch with several of them so far today and the ones we are speaking to say they are not taking extra precautions. they haven't received any specific guidance that they should. he they know there is a serious but nebulous attack to attack u.s. interests somewhere emanating out of yemen. you were just saying al qaeda in the arabian peninsula based in yemen is a dangerous group for three real reasons. one, it has a capable bomb maker. a person who specializes in making bombs made that don't include any metal, that would be easy to get through airport security. he is even working on bombs that

could be surgically implanted in someone's body. the other two reasons? the leader of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula is someone very close to top al qaeda leadership and was once osama bin laden's secretary. lastly, the group in yemen has been attacked quite aggressively by yemeni fources and saudi forces and american drones and therefore is looking for an opportunity for revenge. >> nbc's richard engel reporting in cairo. thank you. joining to us continue this conversation is democratic senator from oregon, jeff markly. senator, good to have you here. obviously, as we have been talking about off the top of this hour it's the new normal of what is taking place in relation to the embassy closings. i want to play more from what we heard from richard haass this morning on "morning joe." >> this is not an exception. this is in some ways the inevitable result of a middle east that is increasely

careening out of control and the problem is not strong governments but weak governments who are not in control of large things that go on within their boardses. >> so talking there about the weak governments. again, to remind everybody whether it comes to our embassies we rely heavily on the country's courtesy where we are stationed as americans. because they are in charge of our security. so explain to all of us when we think about the chatter that brought us up to this point where we are seeing this reaction, this muscular flex of closings, what is it that has been discussed that got everybody's attention? that got everybody to rattled. >> certainly, i don't have any details beyond those that you've been talking about but there is an abundance of chatter and the response is an abundance of caution. i really support secretary kerry's effort to try to create the appropriate balance in a very hostile and difficult world. >> when you talk about the appropriate balance, is this just reactionary and giving into what al qaeda and yemen or other

terrorist organizations want? they want to impose some impact or fear. because in many times, just over the weekend we can hear on "meet the press" how al qaeda has been decimated but if they are so decimated, isn't this proof that they are not as decimated as one would say and that they do have the influence to be able to control what america is doing? >> throughout the world in moments of hostility, we have taken various actions to protect our diplomatic core. that is expected and that is important. certainly al qaeda has not gone away. they exist in planning in small cells and they are going to continue to plot violence against america. we have to stay on a high level of alert. >> sir, i want to switch topics. i know you've been in the news lately when it comes to the introduction of legislation that you have coming up in september after the recess and it targets

russia's law that bans promoting lbgt relationships in public and this is a nonbinding resolution from you to ask russia those who travel to the olympic games in 2014 in sochi will not experience that type of discrimination. we have 83 different members of congress who just sent a letter urging john kerry to protect the lgbt athletes in these games. do you have enough support in washington to provide legislation with any real teeth? >> i certainly hope so. we haven't paid a lot of attention until the last week but when the sports minister came out and said that the anti-discrimination law or it's actually the discrimination law against the lgbt community was enforced during the games it caught everyone's attention. i have a lot of concerns about the law itself and the general campaign against lgbt community in russia. i think we should clarify that it's wrong and certainly we need

to guarantee that all of those attending the games are going to be in lgbt discrimination free zone. so we need to draw attention to that. >> given the current climate, as we have been witnessing with our relationship with russia, especially the fact that vladimir putin has granted temporary asylum to edward snowden any reason to believe -- >> i think when it comes to olympic games there is a tremendous amount of national prestige about it. i don't think russia wants to be in a position whether being criticized by the world for -- it's not right for the athletes and it's not right for the coaches and not right for the audience and not right in any conceivable way. i think if we draw attention to the unacceptability of this, we will see hopefully guarantees from the russian president they will conduct the games in appropriate discrimination free

manner. >> bottom line this is while certain pockets of the international community believe this is discriminatory, do you worry you're overstepping? you've pointed out this would be a concern for you regardless of whether or not the olympics were going to be held there. so what do you want to do for the oppression of the russian people in general? the olympics are just a short period of time and it doesn't seem like this law is going away or special protective bubble is going to be provided to athletes, but what about the russian people who are suffering from violence and oppression because of this new law? >> yes. you're right. we have seen a lot of attacks on youth in russia drum beat. i think the expression of the international government can only help with the conversation within russia about whether they are on the right course or the wrong course and certainly i hope that discussion will lead to them re-evaluating this

campaign of discrimination. >> oregon senator jeff merkley, thank you for your time. appreciate it. >> you're welcome. we will have more on this issue later this hour. joining me is former rugby player ben cohen and others. trayvon martin parallel to emmitt till. in my mind, same thing. >> oprah winfrey opening up about everything from trayvon martin to the discussion of race in this country to a new movie that she has coming out. christopher witherspoon will talk to me about their one-on-one interview. d-day for a-rod is expecting news at the top of the hour about a suspension for the bronx bomber today. we will have the latest from yankees stadium. that leads us to today's big question for you. we wanted to figure out do you think that the mlb ban means the ends of a-rod's career? head over to my twitter or facebook pages and weigh in. oh, he's a fighter alright.

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developing right now. in about 45 minutes at high noon here in new york, the ax is expected to fall on a-rod. major league baseball is going to be announcing whether or not it's suspended the new york yankees star slugger and baseball's highest paid player for the 2014 season for allegedly obstructing baseball's investigation and using performance-enhancing drugs. he is expected to appeal that suspension and making him eligible to play tonight for for the first time this season for the yankees. katy, break it down. we know ahead of time the likely scenario for a-rod especially when it comes to suspension. he'll appeal and can show up in

pinstripes tonight? >> he certainly can. it's expect thatted he had be suspended through four-three and if that is the case he could lose $40 million. the statement from the commissioner should come around noon today and expected to be out through 2014. the other players involved in this are expected to accept their suspensions. a-rod on the other hand, is expected to appeal that and make him eligible to play against the white sox tonight. joe girardi say he is penciled in and not fly him out to chicago only to have him benched. selig could have made the suspension effective immediately if he used the special interest of baseball clause but not expected to happen. a-rod is expected to be able to appeal that. if you talk to fans it's a mixed bag. some are saying they should throw the book at him because he is a cheater and doesn't along anywhere in baseball but the yankee fans have been struggling lately and saying we need our star back. this is the most high profile

suspension since pete rose was kicked out for life since 1989 for gambling. this is just two seasons but a-rod is 38. he comes back at 40, just how effective, thomas, can he be? that is the question. >> that is the timing of all this, what it boils down to, if he does take a suspension that takes him through a couple of seasons or so. just puts him back in the game potentially as a 40-year-old. it's not unheard of. but it does make him in some estimation and a lot of people are critical of this toxic to the sport going forward. >> reporter: absolutely. there is a lot of people out there who say that the performance-enhancing drugs have no business being in baseball, that one use alone, one admitted use alone should kick you out for life and people are saying that a-rod should come back and admit what he has done and be a better role model. he hasn't said anything. he's had no comment lately on these allegations. the yankees are keeping pretty tight-lipped as well saying they

expect him to come back tonight. there are people out there who say that he just has no business being in this sport whatsoever. >> katy tur outside of yankees stadium. we will know in 40 minutes or so exactly what the details are. thank you. one-on-one with oprah winfrey. christopher witherspoon will join me to talk about their candid intuch coming candid interview coming up. an agenda panel will also weigh in. stick around. [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare? that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you.

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for safety information and a free one-month trial. yeah? then how'd i get this... [ voice of dennis ] ...safe driving bonus check? every six months without an accident, allstate sends a check. silence. are you in good hands? . we need to give ourselves a round of applause in this country with all of its injustices. look what we have been able to do within the span of one man's lifetime. >> oprah is speaking in a special interview with chris witherspoon ahead of the opening of her new movie "the butler." and chris joins me now in our

studio. you got the opportunity to sit down with oprah and talk about a number of interesting topics. take a peek at this. >> it's so easy, during this time, trayvon martin parallel to emmitt till. in my mind, same thing. but you can get stuck in that and not allow yourself to move forward and to see how far we have come. look at how far we have come. >> she is saying look at how far we have come and bringing it to modern times what we witnessed with trayvon martin and all the while trying to promote and talk about the film "the butler." >> the movie takes us back to a point in time that is hard to see and digest for some people. her bringing up emmitt till. what happened to him happened in mississippi in 195 5. he was 14. a lot of people see this film and think about our new cycle

stand your ground and stop and frisk and trayvon martin and brings up that talking point is there justice right now? really great part in the film where they talk about, you know, the young seizele gaicecil gain. he is saying the law was against us and not on our side. i think trayvon martin's family and other people would feel that way today. >> "the butler" takes a look at the inner workings at the white house in the past. we know oprah has modern day ties to this white house, the obama administration. listen to this. >> look at all of those administrations compared to obama. i mean, obama will stand alone because of what that represented for the country. i was so pleased that during the process of this interview, a white reporter sitting in the very chair you're sitting in saying he didn't realize until seeing this movie the depth of

the importance of obama, but seeing that movie in the context of the civil rights movement, now allows him to see, wow, that is really bigger than he thought. and if you come away from that movie with that, we have done our job. >> so, obviously, oprah recognizes the importance of president obama. the legacy that he is going to leave behind after eight years. but let's talk about the legacy she hopes to leave behind after this film comes out because oprah wants an oscar. >> she does. this movie is amazing. i told her she plays a silent hero. she plays a wife to this man who has this place in history, eugene allen and this butler who served in the white house for several terms. he has this place in history. i told oprah, you do too. you're this historic figure who has accomplished so much from launching your own cable network and having a highly syndicated talk show and one thing she doesn't have is an oscar we'd.

i think this movie will be buzzing. >> are your eyes okay staring directly in the sunlight? >> we are okay right now. i'm still on a high and don't believe it actually happened. >> i bet. >> she was amazing. >> chris, thanks so much. "the butler". >> opens august 16th. >> you say it's great. check out the full interview with chris sitting down on the grio.com. we will be back after this. because all these whole grains aren't healthy unless you actually eat them ♪ multigrain cheerios. also available in delicious peanut butter. healthy never tasted so sweet.

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♪ now you can give yourself a kick in the rear! v8 v-fusion plus energy. natural energy from green tea plus fruits and veggies. need a little kick? ooh! could've had a v8. in the juice aisle. welcome back. want to get you more on our top story. total of 19 u.s. post in the muslim world will remain closed today in the face of increased terrorist chatter and one lawmaker says the most serious threat he has seen in years. ambassador, good to have you here. we have been hearing the phrase new normal collectively around these closings and the extension of them. is that the fact of the case that this is the new normal,

especially after given what happened in libya and ben ghazi? >> i think there's no question that we are dramatically more sensitive to threats now because of what happened in ben ghazi. you can get a stream of intelligence, you can get a stream of information that begins to look like a pattern before ben ghazi, might have looked at it one way. after ben ghazi, if you're the state department and you're thinking about our missions, you look at it at a different way and there is a great deal of caution and it's understandable why there is such caution. >> saxby chambliss said the most serious threat he has seen in years. the chatter was coming from high level operatives in yemen. is closing the embassies the best way to protect our people but moving forward so we need to have a stronger presence and a sense of what is taking place in yemen that is considered a hot

bed. terrorist activity for over a decade, especially since the fact we lost blood and treasure with the "uss cole" bombing that took place in yemen? >> i think you have to look at what the relate is in each country. you have to make an assessment of what the capabilities are of the authorities in that country. we very much depend upon security coming from the local government, the more capable that government, the more confident we can be about their capacity to deal with any possible threats, to preempt them to counter them and the like. the less capable, the central authority is, the more we have to be sensitive to how exposed we are. i think one of the lesson of ben ghazi and may be one of the lessons we face in this broader region. one other point to bear in mind. blackwater acquired a terrible name throughout the region, we lost the capacity to i don't contractors the way we were

using them in iraq. we will never have enough presence on our own to provide security just with our own capability. so you have to look either to the central authority which is really the most important issue, and/or you have to think about other ways that you can augment your presence to provide for security. that may be the new normal and that, i think, is going to laugh for some time to -- last for some time to come. >> ambassador, thanks for making time for me. >> no problem. congress is on a break now. we know that. what happens when politicians are faced with a huge budget showdown upon return? and progress? the unemployment rate for the african-american community dropping to it's lowest level since president obama took office but it's still almost double that of the nation. those are just some of the topics for our agenda panel today. kelly goff and goddard is with us and daphne is also with us. gang, great to have you all

here. you're probably following what is going to turn into the biggest ballots of all the fall. everybody goes home and gets rested for up this and we are talking about the sequester issue. you bring our attention to an article budget bedlam where it's written when it comes to the budget so many moving pieces and so many little that the overall situation let alone the fate of a bill is impossible to predict with any degree of certainty. should we expect it's going to be a bloody knuckles drag down in the fall? >> here we are one more august recess. congress has gone home. we are talking about a government shutdown in the fall. one more time. there is a couple of differences here, though, thomas. one speaker john boehner is weaker than last year. the other one is senator mitchell mcconnell the gop leader in the senate is weaker than last year and facing a primary challenge back home. you have over 60 house republicans now urging republicans to stand down and to let the government close down over the funding of obama care.

in the senate, you have three senators, senator ted cruz and marco rubio and rand paul, all of whom are talking about running for president in 2016. all of whom are urging the same thing. so the politics are a little different. they were last year. >> kelly, does the republican side have a real republican leader in washington, d.c. right now, someone that can collectively organize and move their party toward consensus and work with the left? >> you mean besides rush limbaugh? this speaks to the list christie/rand paul civil war. this is an extension of that which you do, for lack of a better term have a civil war going on. the. party and they want to win independent voters and that is showing bipartisanship. then the die-hards say purity to the end each if it costs us seats in the midterm election. >> daphne, msnbc.com has a list

of 40 things the house could have done while busy repealing obama care. that is the nod to the 40th appeal vote last week. pass the american jobs act and wage minute wage and here are the others. what is the obsession here with obama care? especially when we have had people like speaker boehner come out and say it's the law of the land. why do they insist on trying to take the law of the land and kick the tires on it constantly? >> people understand an immigration bill. the obsession of taking away headlig health benefits. i think here again just like you saw with some of the governors examining out and protesting over this idea of a shutdown this is not what people want to

hear especially with congress going home. >> they have gone home and got 22 things passed this year! 22 things! this has been the worst working body of congressional leaders we have ever seen, at least in terms of moving things along. you wrote an article about the unemployment numbers among black americans. when we talk about what they could have gotten done while voting for obama health care act, raise minimum wage and others. as we look at specifically the unemployment number among the african-american americans it's 12.6%. that is the lowest it's been since the president took office. that still stinks. >> i want to be very clear. i wasn't doing cartwheels for joy over that number so i don't want anybody to take it out of context but it is a sad reality that is the lowest it's been since he became president. there is good news because it was as high as over 15% that is the scary thing. this is progress. i'm on here hammering the

president when i think he could be doing more so i want to give credit where credit is due. the numbers could be better. i think the president is between a rock and hard place. as i say in my piece i interviewed mark pryor and others what could we do to address the crisis in the black community because it is a crisis. people acknowledged to me privately it's a bit tougher because he is a black president. that is the sad part. because he is not bill clinton he can't go up to a microphone and say discrimination is a part of that. even if you have the same resume they have done studies on this. unfortunately because we have a black president he is hit harder if he says part of this is racism and discrimination. come up with a bill to tackle that. senator pryor mentioned coming up with the rooney rule. if you follow football you can explain it better than me. the rules says any new nfl team looking for a head coach has to interview one black candidate and senator pryor said perhaps those are the type of thinking we should be talking about.

ways to get creative with getting diversity. >> but obviously, the president knows he won re-election. he doesn't have that much time. they are kind of treating him as a lame duck already. damn if you do and damn if you don't, this approach, at this point who cares if people are going to criticize me? i only have a short time left in control of this country and i might as well get specific about trying to sdet get get the unem rate down. >> one thing people have said about president obama his supporters say why are you wasting this time when you could be up on your soap box doing this. when you talk about the 22 pieces of leching that includes the renaming of post office and things like that. that is pretty insignificant things that come out of this congress. the only things they have done is when congress doesn't act whatsoever. president obama does need to take more initiative. he does need to stand up. he started it a little bit over

the last couple of weeks giving a few economic speeches but i think most of his supporters would be glad to get him out there on the trail again. >> i want to get this in here real quickly. daphne, president dm met with house democrats last week with about measures to help at-risk and minority youth and that came in the wake of trayvon martin. will that fall on deaf ears when so many front burner fires are taking place in washington, d.c. when it comes to the country as a selective whole? >> i think talking about those things are very important. people care and want to hear that. that said, you know, even as you guys were talking, you know, the amount of things that are not getting done, i think, is just astonishing and i think people want to see that change in the fall. >> maybe they are ramping up to take a little respite and come back fully energized with energy to go. >> thank you all so much.

you can find out more from our panel and our website. follow the link to my name at msnbc.com. a deeper dive into the international controversy surrounding the olympic games. are boycotts needed because of the rush shall's treatment to the lgbt community? coming up next retired rugby player ben cohen and sid zig letter and hudson taylor. [ female announcer ] it's simple physics... a body at rest tends to stay at rest...

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marched in vancouver over the weekend and spoke out about cause to boycott the sochi games. >> lesbian -- >> it never solved anything. that's running away. i think mark said it great. the london games where it says that, yeah, boycott just herds of people that don't go. >> we should be looking at concerted actions to other nation to send a message to russian government they find their action unacceptable toot. >> joining us is ben cohen. sid zeigler and hudson taylor joining me now. great to have you here. ben, i start with you. we all know you from your work on the rugby field and off the field being active in promoting lgbt rights in the uk and united states and your stand-up foundation have the support of prime minister david cameron. to all of us when we look at what is taking place in russia, why aren't there more straight allies that have come forward

within russia to try to help out and deal with the discrimination that is taking place within their country? because here we are outsiders looking in, don't they need a bigger incountry movement to deal with this than us? >> i think, firstly, it's a difficult place to be. i think people bistandard f-by not speaking up. i think the occasion the olympics bring is a special moment. we just had the london games and it was absolutely amazing. the whole atmosphere, what it did for the country, what it brought out in the athletes was phenomenal. and to see this olympic games because it's anti-gay law, i'm speechless. i don't know what to say about it. it returns to true sportsmanship

and how sports shouldn't be discriminated is worse now and it's shame to see that. >> it has turned took noointo a political football how people will be treated when they go to sochi. a white house plan to urge russian appeal and appeal to sanctions. what kind of reaction have you seen from washington so far? is there enough momentum and support to get any of the things that you want on your list? >> well, i've had some private conversation with folks in washington and they are paying attention to this. they want to do something. what i've been happy to see the last several days is the calls for boycotts are quiet. boycotts don't accomplish anything and target the wrong people.

they target 19-year-old athletes and not the people of russia. i think focusing on those organizations the power brokers of the olympics, big media companies like, frankly, nbc and big corporate sponsors and washington. that's the important piece. because they are able to make change in a way that 19-year-old athletes and telling them that they have to stay home just will never accomplish. >> sid, you bring up nbc. obviously, we are a part of nbc so we are covering this and we want to be a part of it. nbc universal put out a statement saying this. hudson, let's talk about the spirit of the sport. because we already know that a person who works with your group who is openly gay, speed skater blake skiller. >> a hard last nim. name. he is encouraging other olympians to speak out about

this. he says a boycott the games would send the wrong message. he wants to go and wear a rain below flag pen so people know exactly where he stands on this issue and encouraging other athletes to do so as well. is the onus more on allies now, not just within the lgbt community but allies who feel this is discriminatory and unfair. but what is happening in russia after the olympics go away? >> i think it's a both and. it's clear that the anti-lgbt propaganda law in russia affects lgbt and allies. i think how we respond to that i think is something that everyone should be really focused on and care about. i really think we have two things that we need to accomplish. one, we need to make sure that lgbt and ally fans and participants at the games are protected from persecution.

we need to, two, make sure that the russian lgbt community has a better life experience and these laws aren't affecting them after the games. we use sochi as a vehicle to change that. you know, if we remain tolerant of this intolerance it's those people that are going to face the consequence. so we need to come on together and we need to speak out and not sit out at the games and i think the athletes and their allies are the people to do that. >> ben, do you agree with that? being someone who is an athlete and played on these feels you know what it's like, the preparation that goes into being able to achieve the highest level in sport by attending the olympics, while some people think to themselves maybe they need to boycott. is that the wrong way to go, that that would be cowarding away from a situation where people need to show up and be accounted for? >> i don't think we should boycott the games. i think the power outside the games is where companies and the governing bodies need to deal with that situation.

yes, we do neat ed allies in sports. we need people to stand up and say, despite color of skin and sexual orientation and it doesn't matter. you should be judged on your talent and go there and play and it should be a safe place and should be no discrimination at all. it's a sad state to be in, but we do need people to speak up and say this is wrong. >> sid, with your efforts and what you're trying to do at the ioc there is a gray area. politicians in russia speaking out saying this is a problem for the people coming to the country and other politicians saying this is going to be enforced because not an opportunity for russia to go back and amend this law and they will not create a bubble for people to operate in while they go after other people for law breaking issues. what kind of assurances do you think you're capable of getting from the ioc? >> russia does not want an

international incident coming out of these olympics. no host nation started rounding up people nazi's didn't do it in 1906. humanioc. look. russia -- human rights violations is not something that's new to russia. they've been doing things like this for decades at the soviet union and now as russia. ioc chose them. kinds of things that they need to do is make sure that the government tells the police not to be arresting people for holding hands. they need to ignore parts of the law. they have to do this. they cannot start arresting people. remember, russia has a vested interest. they're supposed to host the world cup in four years. some people would say it is even bigger than the olympics in a lot of places in the world. so russia does not want an incident coming out of this where they might end up losing the world cup in four years. it is important for the ioc and other power brokers to impress upon the russian government the

rest of the world will not tolerate this. >> the white-hotspot light is on us because of the olympics but just because the olympics go away doesn't mean that there aren't oppressive tactics being issued there against the lgbt community and straight allies, violence that will continue to happen. thanks to all the gentlemen -- i appreciate it. we'll be right back after this. [ female announcer ] research suggests cell health plays a key role throughout our lives. one a day women's 50+ is a complete multivitamin designed for women's health concerns as we age.

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ocuvite. guten tag. greetings earthlings. what's crackalackin? it's great we express ourselves differently. if we were all the same, life would be boring. so get to know people who aren't like you. you'll appreciate what makes us different. the more you know. welcome back, everybody. we asked, and you answered. the question being -- mlb ban -- is this the end of a-rod's career? it should be the end of his career. he was a role model to many, bad note to end on. paul said -- it should but the owners had to had had have known and should be punished as well.

take the money and run or hobble and take the money. so mud flying at the farm. time now for the poly-sidebar. first public meeting over the weekend between mitch mcconnell and -- >> i want to say how nice it is to see jerry lundgren back in the game. he's taking orders on the obama campaign on how to run his daughter's campaign. >> if senator mcconnell had his way his version of kentucky health care for our seniors, grandmother, would be to walk it off. let's just tell it like it is. if the doctors told senator mcconnell that he had a kidney stone, he'd refuse to pass it! >> i think she won with the best

zinger there. today is day one of therapy for san diego mayor bob filner. a tenth woman came forward over the weekend to accuse him of sexual harassment. have you heard? anthony wiener announced today he's out with a new book titled "even more keys to the city." new jersey governor chris christie and former secretary of state hillary clinton top a new feeling thermometer poll from quinnipiac university. governor christie measuring 5 53.1% and clinton 52.1%. elizabeth warren hits 49.2 degrees, hotter than president obama. "now" with alex wagner comes your way next. one venture card to fly home for the big family reunion. you must be garth's father? hello. mother. mother! traveling is easy with the venture card

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to suspend alex rodriguez. it is monday, august 5th, and this is "now." any moment now major league baseball is expected to announce the suspension of up to ten players who have been accused of doping at a south florida antiaging clinic. one of those players is not going quietly into the night. according to nbc sports, all-star third base men alex rodriguez will challenge a 214-game ban that would keep him off the field until 2015. under the terms of the suspension rodriguez will still be allowed to play during his appeal, including the game tonight against the chicago white sox. how poetic then that the mlb's announce many comes on the same day that a-rod is slated to make his season debut after several injuries have kept him away from the big leagues for over nine months. yankee outfielder vernon wells summed up the situation saying it should be a bit of